Plebs aureus (Saito, 1934)

Joseph, Mathew M. & Framenau, Volker W., 2012, Systematic review of a new orb-weaving spider genus (Araneae: Araneidae), with special reference to the Australasian-Pacific and South-East Asian fauna, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 166 (2), pp. 279-341 : 332

PLEBS AUREUS ( SAITO, 1934) COMB. NOV.

Argiope aurea Saito, 1934: 316 , plate. 13, fig. 20, plate. 15, fig. 63. Bonnet 1955: 676.

Zilla aurea – Ono, 1975 21, figs 8–10; Chikuni, 1989: 75, fig. 39.

Eriophora aurea – Tanikawa, 2000: 25–26, figs 8, 18–21; Tanikawa, 2007: 67, figs 142–143, 566–568; Tanikawa, 2009: 443, figs 146–148.

Type: Holotype. ♀ from Hokkaido Prefecture ( Japan), Mount Kurodake. Lost ( Tanikawa, 2000). Not examined.

Material examined: Two males, three females from three records (Appendix S1).

Remarks: Saito (1934) initially described this species in the genus Argiope Audouin, 1826 , and it was later transferred to Zilla ( Ono, 1975) . Levi (1983: 260), in a revision of western Pacific Argiope Audouin, 1826 , listed the species as ‘related to Araneus ’ without explicitly transferring it to the genus, and without reference to the listing of the species in Zilla . Tanikawa (2000) most recently reviewed the species and transferred it to Eriophora . We herein transfer the species to the new genus Plebs based upon an examination of specimens and their inclusion in our phylogenetic analysis ( Fig. 3 ).

Distribution: Japan ( Tanikawa, 2000).

Etymology: The specific epithet is considered a Latin adjective (meaning ‘golden’) and therefore follows the masculine gender of Plebs .

Figures

Figure 3. Phylogenetic hypothesis for Plebs within a taxon sampling of Australian ‘eriophorine’ orb-weaving spiders (Araneidae) (length = 114, consistency index = 0.38, retention index = 0.72). Full circles indicate unambiguous synapomorphies and open circles homoplasious character state changes. Character numbers (above circles) and states (below circles) as in Table 1. The topology only shows unambiguous character state changes. Bremer support values are given in circles below branches.